[el´ vazh] n. m. The education of wine. A blog.
Part of Vincent Wine Company, Portland, OR

January 03, 2010

2004 Edmunds St. John Roussanne Tablas Creek

I heard from Steve Edmunds on Facebook that January 1, 2010 was the 25th anniversary of his winery, the California Rhone variety legend Edmunds St. John. What a perfect excuse to drink the 2004 ESJ Roussanne Tablas Creek Vineyard with my seafood bowlfest of Dungeness crab and langostino.

What a gorgeous wine! At first, it smelled of petrol like a nicely maturing riesling. Then with time more lemon and honey notes emerged, along with that petrolly minerality. This perfume makes me think of nectar oozing from fractured rock, if that makes any sense to you.There's incredible balance of richness and finesse here. I could smell this a long time, and happily I saved some and even two days later it's lost nothing.

In the mouth, the wine is appropriately oily in texture, coating the tongue with lemon and petrol flavors with subtle toast nuance that all linger for a minute. There's excellent balance of flavors and citrusy acid, at once satisfying you and making you salivate for more. Some roussanne from the golden state can be a bit rustic and unrefined, interesting but not necessarily delicious. This is incredibly detailed without undo polish or sculpting, and simply excellent now and surely for years to come.

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Vincent Wine Company

We don't just blog about wine. We make it, too, at the Southeast Wine Collective at 2425 SE 35th Place in Portland, Oregon, at SE Division. Come taste our Willamette Valley Pinot noir wines along with three other local producers that share this beautiful winery space. And don't forget to email us to join the Vincent Wine Company mailing list.

We're also part of Guild Winemakers, a co-operative project between four Portland-area winemakers. We produce red and white wines priced for everyday enjoyment. Look for them all over Oregon and in several states across the country.